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Mikko Hirvonen finished third in the Rallye de France and is tied with Sébastien Loeb for the WRC points lead. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Citroën's Sébastien Ogier on Sunday won the all-asphalt Rallye de France-Alsace--his home event--for the first time, blowing open the World Rally Championship's 2011 title race with just two rounds to go. Thanks to defending world champion Sébastien Loeb's dramatic retirement on Friday because of an engine problem, Loeb and Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen are tied in the drivers' championship with 196 points each, while Ogier now has 193 points to put him right behind the leaders.

“It's going to be exciting and anything can happen,” said Ogier. “Now I have to make sure that I drive the last two rallies properly.”

One of the real heroes of the event in France was the Mini of Dani Sordo, competing on only its fourth World Championship rally. The Spaniard was just 6.3 seconds behind Ogier at the finish, having set fastest-stage times and even leading an event for the first time in the British team's return to the sport.

“I'm actually a little bit disappointed not to win, but I can't complain. It's been a fantastic rally,” said Sordo. "Even after our podium in Germany [at the end of August], I don't think we expected to be this competitive here. It's been a huge boost for all of us.”

Sordo led the rally after the opening day, while his teammate Kris Meeke crashed out of a strong fourth place on day two.

The other rally leader was Citroën privateer Petter Solberg, who lost his chance at victory after an inexplicable tire puncture on Saturday morning; up until then, he fought closely for the win with Ogier and Sordo. Nonetheless, the 2003 world champion recovered to finish on the podium. He could have easily scored an even better result on the road, but instead--in a somewhat shocking twist late on Sunday--officials excluded Solberg from the final results because his car was 8.8 pounds under the minimum weight, and this had a profound effect on the championship.

The Ford duo of Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala originally were fourth and fifth after reversing their finishing order following the final superspecial stage, ironically held in Loeb's hometown of Haguenau. They swapped positions so Hirvonen could claim the maximum points possible. They were then promoted to third and fourth after Solberg's exclusion, putting Hirvonen equal with Loeb on points.

Both Ford Fiesta drivers lost the chance to finish higher up the order after going off in separate incidents on Friday's eventful stage three, losing about a minute each. They played catch-up from then on, but the team's tactics now give Hirvonen a solid chance of a maiden world title, while Latvala won seven stages in his most convincing asphalt performance yet.

Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block claimed his first points finish of the year with a well-deserved eighth-place in his Ford. The American sensation lost time on the opening day after having to stop behind a crash for privateer Citroën driver Peter van Merksteijn. Apart from that, Block enjoyed a clean run to the finish, beating up-and-coming Frenchman Pierre Campana in a Mini backed by the French motorsport federation.

“I really loved the fight,” said Block. “This is the rally I've enjoyed most all season, which is amazing when you consider that I've still got so little experience on tarmac.”

It was frustrating event for ex-Formula One world champion Kimi Räikkönen, who went off and retired while warming up his tires on Friday morning. The Finn's Citroën collided with the Ford of Henning Solberg, who survived to finish sixth.